Walk Your Talk ~

Have you ever timed how long it takes your mind to stop talking to you?

It takes me about 10 to 15 minutes ONLY when I am out in nature. When I sit down to meditate there is bigger range of 5 to 30 minutes.

If I am working, at home or running around with errands – it’s pretty constant. In fact, I am almost certain it is constant with a maybe 30 seconds of random pausing! Even my mind needs to take a breath?

We are all in varying stages of wanting to identify our authentic voices and releasing negative talk. These processes require conscious attention to our inner conversations.

How can we help this process along? Begin to notice how much “input” you are receiving each day. How much do you listen to the radio, the news, watch tv, cruise around the internet, talk on the phone with friends? Each of the activities add to our lives, but they also fill up our space with more words.

Balance the input by taking “input breaks”.

*Take walk and leave your cell phone at home (or at least don’t hold it in your hand!)
*Meditate
*Yoga
*Dance
*Art projects – painting, beading, sculpting with clay can lead to some of the most healing and quiet hours of your life

For me, taking my “talk” on a walk is the simplest way to move past the chatter and bring balance into my life. And my dog, Boo Radley, is always by my side making me laugh.